I suppose Joseph Cox is still better known as Fragile Battleships, by his previous project, through the course of 4 albums, in which he generated interesting ambient music. The 20-year-old British musician offered intense soundscapes with solid variability and impressive credibility - atmospheric soundscapes, restless glitch rhythms, the elements of musique concrete and modern classic, subtle orchestrations, low frequent bass booming, freeform sonic effects.
Although quite different, the direction on Weird Ribs wasn`t actually a very surprising turnaround drifting into a new realm - his spirit of open-hearted inventiveness promised to abound almost in everything. An new middle place is set around krautrock - around music without or within the sound of a few guitars, concentrating on creating electronic music with space odour, so-called kosmische musik. However, you know all of those names - Cluster, Conrad Schnitzler, Manuel Göttsching, Harmonia, The Droids, Cosmic Jokers and many others.
Stereo effects initiate Tubes – from one channel to another moving electronic loops are joined by synthesizer drones pumping thereafter up high chords - maybe it sounds even more Cluster than Cluster itself was able to do it. Goodnight Sweetheart is full of clashing digital sounds which at first glance, though, are quite remote from positive acceptance. Maybe even Cox itself is a bit frightened about it, turning on the previous gear. Leave is one of the highlights on the album - a kraut/synth-based sublime symphony which gets growing and meets the expectations of listeners` perception in the degree of 101 per cent. It might seem to be sound in a way as if Harmonia is circulating with Penguin Cafe Orchestra in the CD-player in the same time. The ending of this is an unexpected offering of Gang Gang Dance-alike vanguard tribal rhythms while a counterpoint in the embodiment of digital noise moves up to an intensive background whistling having some similarities with Cox`s previous project sounds, though, having more outbursting and destroying output. One of the best songs of 2010 to date. Pitter Patter is shaken through tectonic quakes while moving through cosmic spheres. All this enchantment of sounds is being captured from vintage analogue synths and epic tanpura-based long-lasting chords and will be set up a new metaphysics - the castles of old peers will be made up again.
On Tubes modern sense meets retro spirituality, epic meets sound manipulation, old school electronics meets recent technology, dance sentiments are infiltrated into psychedelic chaos. Moreover, as Joseph Cox has also mentioned the likes of Fuck Buttons, and Growning as influences amongst others, this conception will nicely be wrapped up. However, by my opinion his closest musical soul mate is still Dominik Jansen aka Cidulator from Cologne.
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9.3
